Sheffield United: Rangers legend wants to bring the buzz back to Bramall Lane after rejoining The Blades

The former Scotland international was a member of Neil Critchley’s backroom staff when Blackpool travelled to South Yorkshire a month ago, returning across the Pennines with maximum points following Keshi Anderson’s strike towards the end of the second-half.

Although McCall was delighted with the result, he admitted to being surprised by the mood inside the stadium after warning his old colleagues at Bloomfield Road beforehand they faced a test of character as well as their footballing credentials.

The 57-year-old, who spent five seasons in South Yorkshire as both a player and a coach, spoke about the importance of restoring the link between the team and the terraces after returning to United last week when Paul Heckingbottom was unveiled as Slavisa Jokanovic’s successor.

“Before then, the last time I’d been here was for the Ipswich game when we got promoted under Chris (Wilder),” McCall told The Star. “The atmosphere then was electric as you can imagine.

“When I came here with Blackpool not so long ago, that was one of the really disappointing things for me - how flat it was - and that was quite sad really.

“I’m not being critical because I totally understand why. But that’s our job now - to get those days back and really try to get the place rocking again. Because when it is, it’s brilliant.”

McCall and Jack Lester, United’s new head of player development, helped Heckingbottom’s reign get off to the perfect start on Sunday when Bristol City were beaten 2-0. United return to action at Cardiff City this weekend and McCall, who was Neil Warnock’s assistant when they reached the Premier League in 2006, said: “My daughter and two sons were at that Blackpool game as well; they both noted how flat it was compared to what it’s usually like here.

“We want to get that old feeling back again, because it’s so important to any club and particularly this one.”